Envelope opening machine



May 23, 1939. E. J, DUMMER El AL 2159260 ENVELOPE OPEN ING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 24, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l I E- Z INVENTORS.

My ATTORNEY.

y 23, 1939- E. J, DUMMER ET AL 2,159,266

ENVELOPE OPEN I NG MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 24, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS.

Patented May 23, 1939 UNITED STATES ENVELOPE OPENING MACHINE Edward J. Durnmer and Azel Gay, Rochester,

N. Y., assignors to Multipost Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application December 24, 1936, Serial 117,486. Divided and this application October 13, 1938, Serial No. 234,833

3 Claims.

Our present invention relates to paper feeding and cutting machines and more particularly to envelope or mail opening machines of the type in which the letters either stacked or singly may 5 be run rapidly through and one of their marginal edges neatly slit to just remove the fold without injuring the contents, and it has for its object to provide a simple, efiicient and improved machine of this character that may be conveniently operated at high speed and capacity and yet with surety of accurate performance. This application is a division of our prior application, Serial No. 117,486, filed December 24, 1936 and allowed July 21, 1938. The present improvements are directed in part and more particularly, so far as this application is concerned, to the formation of an edge guide that directs the envelopes in the cutting plane of the knives so that one fold of the envelope will be completely removed to open it along its entire extent but without endangering its contents. To these and other ends, the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a letter opening machine constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of our invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view of the knives and the edge guide, with the intervening parts removed;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional end View of the presser feet and edge guide, with intervening parts omitted, and

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 illustrative of the action of the presser feet on a passing envelope.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

To properly disclose the structure and function of our improved edge guide, it is necessary to describe in general the mode of operation of the entire machine omitting, however, details shown and described in the parent application that do not directly affect the mode of operation of such guide.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I indicates a preferably cast base having end walls I and a partition-like central framework 2 rising therefrom. At the front is suitably secured a cover plate 3 and at the rear a cover plate 4 together constituting a casing within which the interior mechanism is housed. At the front a shelf-like plate 5 constitutes the bed along which the envelopes are fed and operated upon. Rising from the rear wall of this bed plate at the left end thereof in Fig. l is a flange 6 constituting a general rear guide wall. A transversely extending vertical plate 1 has a fiange by which it is secured to the frame 2 at 8 and constitutes a gate beneath which the envelopes are fed. They are stacked on this left hand or feed end of the bed plate 5 in an inclined pile, the regularity of which is established by the guide wall 6 and the said gate 1. The downward inclination of the feed of the lower envelope is established by a shed 9 secured to the table by a screw l passing there-.

through and into a lug H on the adjacent base end I At the right hand end of the table and beneath the same to run from front to rear, the frame 2 is provided with a suitable drive shaft l3 (shown only in dotted lines in Fig. 1) that is operated by any suitable means, such as a motor in the base. At its forward end it carries a lower slitting disk or rotary knife 20, the cutting edge of which is in the general plane of the back guide wall 6. On the same shaft and forwardly of the knife is a grooved drive pulley 22. Another grooved idler pulley 23 is mounted on a stud 24 on the frame partition 2 and over the two pulleys passes an endless feed belt 25. This feed belt is preferably of rubber and circular in cross section. Its upper reach 26 travels in slot 21 on the bed plate and projects just partially above the same so as to take sure frictional contact with an envelope on the bed while the latter is still main-.- tained in a substantially flat condition.

Above the bearing of the lower knife and pulley shaft I3 is a bearing 28 on the frame 2 containing a stud shaft 29. On the outer or forward end of this stud is a hub against which there is clamped by a nut 3| an upper companion slitting knife 32 cooperating in the overlapping manner best shown in Figs. 3 and 4 with the driven knife 20. This shaft 29 is spring pressed axially from the rear so that it is maintained close against lower knife 29 and is frictionally driven therefrom.

As best shown in detail in Fig. 3, an extension 36 on the end of the back plate or guide 6 of the bed plate 5 projects toward the knives and has a tapered end 21 that enters between them at their intersection running as closely as possible to the bite or cutting point of the blades. This extension is V-shaped in cross section, as also shown in the other figures, but the bottom at the inside apex is definitely flat, as indicated at 38, lies in the plane of the guide wall 6 and this plane is sufficiently back of the cutting plane defined by the contacting surfaces of the knives to cut off the fold of the envelope edge back the desired distance. The lower plate 39 of the edge guide inclines downwardly outwardly to contact with the bed plate 5 while its longitudinal projection toward the feed end of the machine is given a compound curve into which the lateral inclination wall 38. The upper plate of the V at the corre-- sponding end has a share portion whereit joins the plate 6 for a similar purpose.

As so far described, in operation, the undermost letter of a stack squared-against the back wallB 10 and the gate 1 touches or is urged by the operator against the belt 25. It is-carried.underthegate and the frictional hold of the belt thereon causes it to overcome the retarding influence of a spring finger 42 on the far side of the gatehaving a notch therein to accommodate'the belt at other times. The finger has a rounded lower edge which, however, arrests the envelope next-above :until the first one, whose frictional contact might xotherwise carry such upper envelope with it, has

':;passed on. fl his'adjacentor following one in turn contacts the superior friction of the feed belt aandisn'ext.fediforward. The latter carries each envelopezalong the-edge guidethrough' the knives "whichslit the.foldthereof and then passes it out 7 5 :at-the right end .of the machine in opened condition.

The said retarding finger 42 is mounted on a --sha'ft 44 extending-between the securing flange and-'a:front1flange45 wof the gate plate I and is 'pressedsdownwardly by .a spring 46 coiled about .zsuch sha'ft. lug 4l'on the'finger carries-a stop .='screw 4'8zthatxbearsxagainstvalug 49 on the'gate -to limitthe zdownward'. thrust of .the finger with "reference'to zthe beltland vto the nature of the mailrmatter that is passing :through.

;It iis, :of :oourse, important that as the en- 'i-vlope. enters*.the.-'lmives;its edge. should L beifirmly .andfevenly against rthe wall "38 .of the :edge guide :so that the .fold :thereof will "be uniformly .and

410 :evenlysshea'red off 51:01 exactly the desired extent.

This :is :insured partly :by the converging of the travel of the upper reach 26 ofzthe feed belt 125 ea'nd ipartly byia relativelyvcocked arrangement :of its pulleys' wherebyisuch reach twists or rotates :.-s :on.its.own geometrical axis toward the knives as it passes .from the one pulley to theother inthe :feedingdirection. -.Its.frictional effect on the en- -=Ve10pe:is, therefore, both to convey it in a straight pa'th 'and to urgef-it laterally toward the knives afiOfiarrdsagainst the edge guides '36.

-At-the:cutting point, the envelope is held-to -the knives in conjunction with the combined acfiltion: of -the belt and guide 36 by compressor feet '5ll and 5l, shown inFigs. l, 2, 4'and5. These .:55:'are.--'jointlynotched -'at'-52 to span the feed belt and are pivoted upon a stud53 projecting from the vertical frame piece 2. The inner foot is provided 'with alug 54- engaging beneath the foot 5i. 1 The latter is pressed downwardly by'a spring r60 55-coiled about the stud so that through the' lug it also pressesdown companion foot 50. The latten "however, is provided with a stop screw '56- en- -gagingalug 5"! on the frame to regulate the maximu-m depressionof both feet withrespect @265: to the belt and the envelope carried thereon.

fAlso,'itwill-be'obvious that, while "foot5l may rise independently, the lifting of inner-foot 50 raises outer'foot*5l with it ifthe latter is not already aboveco'ntact with the lug 54. The pur- -7 pose of this-is best-illustrated in Fig. 5. Inner "foot "50*rides-onthe thin edge portion of the envelope A intowhich its contents B- do not project and cooperates -withthe guide 3638 to present 'the-edge fold'squarely to the knives. Foot' ""7 5 f-ri'des on thebulgedbody of theenvelope exerting enough retarding effect to keep it from slewing around whenzthe resistance of the knives is met and with an extremely bulky envelope rises independently, as described. The under side of the contact portion of foot 50 is preferably in- .clined downwardly and rearwardly toward the cutting plane.

'Inan envelope handling machine of the character described, the letters are stacked and fed from a precise relatively angularity of the bed -andback plate and only as they reach the vicinity of the cutters'are they directed into the V-guide.

This V-guide is in-the nature of an attachment and by providing the ramp 40, as set forth in the claims, the bottom letter of the pile is eased upwardly from the level-of 'thebed to an-elevation .abovesth llatter where the knives. are arranged. so astotake it at ragproper cutting point from .the belt thatzis alsoraised above the :level of the bed.

.-A .thin: envelope goesz'to the flattened apex ,of the guide for which :the'machineis adjusted, anda thick envelope also goes to the same ;.point of contact and is cut toprecisely the sameextentin precisely the .same manner, which it would not z,do-w'ere-.it.-not for-the wall.38. Furthermore the urging of the envelope'towardtheguide constitutes a ,valuablelpart of thiscombination because, with.eithersathinenvelopeor a thick envelope, the flattened. apex of the; guide permits it to-bulge under this pressure, which is desirableboth for the efficient action: of the-knives :and for protecting the: contents.

We-claim as ourinvention: v r 1. In an envelope opening machine, the combination witha bed iplate,-aknife arranged angu- =lar1y :thereto and means for feeding envelopes along the bed, .ofl an edge. guide for-the envelopes ;-3,SSO0la,tediWlth-1the knife to direct the :edge of an envelope :in 'theqcutting plane -.thereof, said edge guide embodying v,a -V-shaped portion inext .adjacent to the knife and a ramp;portion-extending longitudinally of the bed in rear-oftheiv-shaped ;portion:formingan incline on whichthe body of :the-enveloparides and iselevatedin the direction of feed: asit approachesthe knife.

2. In an-envelope opening machine, the comzbination with; a be'd:plate,-aa-knife arranged angui-larly thereto and :means for feeding envelopes along the bed and at the same time urging them :laterally toWard-theiknives, of .an edge -guide for 1 the envelopes associated with the -knife to. direct the edge of an envelope in the cutting plane thereof, said edge.guideembody-ing a V-shaped portiorrnext adjacent to-the knife, the lower plate of which V is inclined transversely to the bed, and theibottom'of which: at the .apexpresentsa distinctly flat inner; guiding surface.

13.' In:an envelope openingzmachine, the combinationwithabedplate, a knife arranged angularly .theretoand means for feeding :envelopes alongthe-bedand at thessame time:.urging them ilaterallyztoward thes knives of an edgeguidefor 'Ithe: envelopes associated with'the knife .to direct the edge of an envelope in the cutting plane thereof sai'd edge guide embodying a 'V-shaped portion next adjacent toethe knife, and aramp -p0rtion"forming=-an incline on which the body of l the" envelope rides as it approaches: the knife; the lower plate of the v portionbeing inclined transversely to the bed and the bottom thereof at the apex being *formed "to present a distinctly fiat innerguiding surface.

EDWARD J. DUMMER. "AZEL GAY. 

